"It's time... to touch Yoshi."

Introduction

You know what? The DS needs more puns about touching.

...'k, maybe not. Although I think we would all agree that these first months of 2005 have been pretty damn dry for the DS. In January we only got a 40 dollar version of a free game (Zoo Keeper), and in February we got a crappy licenced game that was virtually the same as the GBA version (Robots), BUT In February we did get a pleasant distraction with WarioWare Touched!. Here is March and we get another handful of mediocre titles... and Yoshi Touch and Go. This game is great (unlike the less than stellar Pokemon Dash and Atari Retro Classics >_>) and looks to hold together nicely despite being an evolution of an E3 tech demo.

Story

What story? Heh, yeah, this game really lacks a story. I think the instruction manual has some blurb about Yoshi going on some big adventure but that doesn't really accurately portray the game.

Graphics

Taking a page or two from the original Yoshi's Island for the SNES look, Yoshi Touch and Go's graphics exactly aren't the best around. They appear to have been done on SNES, but it really suits the type of game it is. I'd much rather have the slightly more detailed Yoshi's Island sprites than a watered-down Yoshi's Story sprite. XD. Otherwise, Yoshi and the enemies look pretty vibrant and colourful. Charming, even. The backgrounds are very detailed and a pleasure to look at.

8/10

Sound

- Sound Effects

Before I talk about the sound effects, I want to give you some good news: there isn't much Baby Mario sound clips. There is only 1 I can recall, and that's when he says "Thank you-a very much" when Yoshi catches him. Anyways, the other sound effects are well done. The plopping of eggs and various Yoshi grunts are quite cute.

- Music

My favorite part of the sound, the music, is top-notch in Touch and Go. Some original tracks and some remixed Yoshi's Island tracks are in this game and they are catchy (plus pretty damn listenable). The 2 player music is awesome, especially.

8/10

Gameplay

Styled like a true arcade game, Touch and Go goes "all or nothing" with the levels. Yes, one hit and you're gone! Well, the horizontal levels anyway. Now, onto explaining the different forms of the levels:

First you have the vertical fall with Baby Mario. Baby Mario is always on the top screen and he constantly falls. The problem? There are enemies about! It's up to you to kill these enemies and make a safe pathway for Baby Mario. You use the stylus to draw clouds that guide Baby Mario and if you draw one around an enemy it turns into a bubble. You must fling the bubble at Baby Mario to get the points. The amount of points you get in this vertical section leads to a different coloured Yoshi that catches you at the bottom. On this vertical fall, Baby Mario has 3 balloons, so you have room for 3 errors.

Next part of the level is the horizontal journey with Yoshi. This part is styled differently in some aspects, but its similar to the vertical section. You tap Yoshi to make him jump (when again to flutter kick), and you tap the screen to shoot an egg. You swipe the screen to draw clouds that guide Yoshi and you can draw circles around enemies to make them bubbles. The amount of eggs, the speed you go and the difficulty of the horizontal section is based on the coloured Yoshi you have.

This game is split into 4 different modes: Score Attack, Time Attack, Marathon and Challenge. Only 2 are available at the starting and you have to unlock the other 2 by getting high scores in the available modes. Score Attack puts you through a level from part A to part B as you try to get a high score by getting coins and killing enemies. Marathon is a never-ending course that tests your endurance, Challenge times you to how fast you can rescue Baby Luigi and Time Attack is a challenge to see how fast you can clear the level.

9/10

Replay

If you really like this type of game you'll keep coming back. I can assure this. The only problem is the lack of a story mode, but that's not too bad.

Pros-----+ Very engaging+ Difficult+ Good music and sound effects+ Refined gameplay